Sony UK has posted PlayStation 3 firmware version 3.42. The update incorporates a "patch... added to address security vulnerability in the system software".
PSJailbreak, PSGroove et al now disabled, do you think?
Any console owner worried that the new system software will indeed prevent the USB dongle - and the code that …

I wonder if the hackers

Wouldn't matter

Sony could change keys or protocols so that unauthorised firmwares couldn't connect to PSN. They could even put in surreptitious checks so that even if someone was stupid enough to connect while running modded firmware that the fact would be noted and used to permaban the machine & id forever.

Been there, done that...

The original method was pretty much naive; the PS3 would check a predefined URL which gives back a txt file, saying which is the "current" version, which is the "mandatory" minimum version, and a link to the latest firmware. Clever users did a "bypass" on this, pointing DNS to a fake server giving the old txt file; it allowed us to keep using 3.15 on PSN. Sony did something though; after 3 weeks, one of those weird hex-numbered errors started appearing. We suppose Sony added some additional FW checking stuff server-side.

so yeah, those monkeying with the USB dongle are going to be left out in the cold, in a similar manner we OtherOS dudes were left out.

Re:

Well, Sony could change keys or protocols so that unauthorised firmwares couldn't connect to PSN. They could even put in surreptitious checks so that even if someone was stupid enough to connect while running modded firmware that the fact would be noted and used to permaban the machine & id forever. That is all.

Think it needs a two pronged approach

Crippled again

For something that has the potential to be so much more, Sony are doing a damn fine job of crippling it. And no I don't condone pirating at all but I'd like to be able to turn my PS3 into a much better media player and to add the ting i'd like to add.

pfft

There's an open variant of the hack that just need a programmable usb board so about £30 and by default won't allow piracy. Have you even looked at Homebrew scenes on other consoles? Yes most of their stuff only has curiosity value but the odd gem can be found here there and such communities actively try and discourage piracy.

If Sony et al would allow the community to make their own programs within a hyper-visor what harm would it do? they'd struggle to make games that could compete with professional games and if they did they might be tempted to ask to be allowed to sell it through the consoles on-line store.

The ability to make useful computer type applications won't appeal to the average user so the Console manufacturers won't do it and having killed the Other OS option has left my PS3 a rarely used toy rather than a genuinely useful second computer with a gaming OS.

I'm mostly bitter that my TV is deprived of a good media player the way the PS3 handles music is just terrible.

title

You mean the same thing Microsoft do...the same thing any company would do to protect their product.

Even if Sony wanted to allow this through, i'm pretty sure developers/publishers of games would not be too happy with them.

Not everybody will use it to play pirated games, but lots will, and that is where the money is made on games consoles usually. The hardware often sold at a loss (especially for the first few years) so they need to make it back some how.

what stinkin title

I'm a former card carrying member of the pirate club and have traded it in for a non-pirate club.

Based on my gut instinct, (which is formed around the people I've socialised with and the people I talk to online, ) the jailbreak allows 95% of those who download it to run pirated games.

There are 5% of people who will use it to satisfy some techy curiousity - all the power to them.

What do you do? Do you allow the 95% of people who will use the jailbreak for freeloading to damage the revenue stream for yours and other businesses so a minority 5% can do what they want with the console they "own"?

Ignore the megalomaniac that is Sony for one second here.

You spend money on an idea, and make it real, you intend to make money of that idea by selling the product to others. Are you going to let people stop you earning money just because they can? Or are you going to do whatever is in your power to protect your investement?

I also do not get the statement about "Sony once again treating all of their customers as criminals".

My ps3 is the original, yet the firmware updates will have no bearing on how it operates for me. I want to take advantage of the services that Sony offer so I agree to their terms and I operate by their rules. Call me conformist, but you know what, I just wanna play games.

I dont pay full whack for the titles, I prefer to wait for the drop in price, but I will pay something.

If I dont want to take advantage of those services, I have a choice. The choice is weighted heavily Sony's side, but its a choice none the less.

I hold no allegiance to Sony as a company , I just like their products over the likes of the MS offering. But I'd support MS attempt at ensuring that they score what revenue they deserve.

People may question the deserved nature of large profits, but you know what, they provided a product, we buy it. In that purchase we make that judgement about whether something is worth it or not.

Who can blame Sony or name any other corporation for continuing to maintain that success?

Over course they're going to big lengths

"They're going to big lengths to protect people from playing pirated games or ripping their own to the HDD."

Well duh. They have a reputation and profits to maintain. They have to stop people playing pirate games to ensure they make money, that their reputation with 3rd parties stays intact and to stop a modded assholes cheating and ruining the experience for legitimate customers on PSN.

"Overkill of Sony once again treating all of their customers as criminals"

No they're not. They're treating the modders as criminals. The firmware update shouldn't make the slightest difference to actual paying customers.

Who wouldn't want it to continue? Me :)

Not only does it harm innovation, that we have antagonistic competition for profit ( for the facts check out http://www.realityinfo.org ) it also prevents us doing what we want with hardware we "own"...It's like asking..when is "ownership" not actually "ownership"....Does Ford come along and tell you what stereo to put in your car, or which spare parts to use when things need replacing....pah...You said..."Call me conformist"....You're a conformist.....How's that? Good enough ? :)

Extending you logic.

I'm assuming that you are saying that as 95% of use will/could be illegal then they are justified in banning it?

Does you logic extend to e-mail? Which by current estimates has a 90-95% unsolicited SPAM content (illegal in the UK), and hence, as only 5% of e-mail is legitimate/legal does this justify all ISPs in the banning of all e-mail traffic?

Using the legitimate/illegitimate percentage angle as an excuse can be very dangerous.

I am not condoning the pirating use, mind you - just wary of the percentage excuse.

They're assuming pirates will just appear

From the point that a lot of the people will just use the code for ripping their own games to their HDD it's overkill, especially since the PS3 was meant to allow an OS to be installed in the first place and then they took that option away and refused to refund people who bought it for that.

Sony is an evil company

If i had a PS3 and got the code, i would only use it for genuine games, not pirates.

How?

How is Sony treating it's customers like criminals? Sony has every right to protect it's revenue stream and that of it's partners. I read almost every other week that another software house has closed. Many of these people how partners and children, households to maintain. Do you really think that ok just because you want to be able to play copied games? or rip a few films to hdd?

You're comparing apples and oranges

When you buy a PS3 it's not bought with the intention of pirating games since it hasn't been possible. It's is also not bought with the intention of running homebrew. That may be different if you bought a 360. Also, when you buy a PS3 you are also buying into the license agreement. You may not agree with it but you do.

If you want to run any software you like buy a PC.

This holier than though attitude some people display is quite frankly sickening.

Banning SPAM

Generally, the illegal part is *sending* the stuff. So yes, ISPs banning any of their UK users from making port 25 connections to anything OTHER THAN the filter-enabled, well-monitored, ISP-authorized smarthosts provided by the ISP for the purposes of forwarding on the email from the ISPs users would be entirely legitimate. And as a mail admin in my CFT, I'd be quite grateful if more than just the UK would do so.

your car analogy makes no sense.

When starting your PS3 you are given an option "There is new firmware available do you wish to download?" That presents you with an inherent choice.

By choosing not to download a firmware you relinquish your right to access the PSN. You still OWN your hardware, you just cannot access a service that Sony OWN.

There is nothing to stop you doing whatever you want with that device, aside from the point, you will be doing so without Sony support.

If you decide to modify your Ford car as is your right and that modification causes a failure somewhere and you to crash, what do you think Ford will say?. Will they take ownership and say "yup, he modified our car, so therefore our car is at fault?"

Will they hell. They will grab the popcorn and watch from a distance.

Any modification you make to your own equipment is fine. Just dont expect support from the originating manufacturer. If that means denying you a service then its still your call.

As for being conformist, well I still see the Sun in the sky, so amargeddon isnt yet upon us.

Criminals?

"How is Sony treating it's customers like criminals? Sony has every right to protect it's revenue stream and that of it's partners"

Agree completely. But how's about not presuming everyone who doesn't want to play by their game is a criminal?

You're also taking for granted that piracy causes software houses to close.

Nothing at all to do with spending huge sums of money of licences, and then spending years to churn out mediocre titles. All the while paying over the odds for the management numpties that work in those software houses.

Bitter? Maybe? But also someone who used to be involved and saw the huge amounts of money piddled away while hard working people were screwed.

Overkill

Fighting piracy is fine, but the majority of people would have been using this software to rip cds and games to the HDD, they didn't have to prevent people from doing that

"How is Sony treating it's customers like criminals?"

The same way they always do: Adding DRM to cds without telling the customers, removing the option of installing an OS onto the PS3 AFTER people bought it for that reason, and not allowing people the option of ripping games and CDs they already own to the PS3 now.

Instead they blocked that function with the update aswell, whereas they could just stop the console from recognising non genuine discs without the DRM

If only Sony would add the features customers want...

I am currently on my fourth PS3 after the first two suffered laser failure (luckily replaced under warranty), and I traded the third in for a slim before it died too. I'm not interested in pirating games, but I would like the option to run my games from a hard disk to avoid wear and tear on the blu-ray drive.

If Sony won't provide this and other functions, what do they expect? I had to hack my PSP just to be able to use it as an ebook reader at the time. Since bought a Sony Reader though, so maybe that was their intent :-)

Great idea but

I don't think anyone would object if the PS3 allowed games to be backed up (with suitable encryption & disc verification). It works well on the 360 and would be a welcome addition. The size of some games might be an issue but it would beat not having the feature at all.

However. Realistically the vast majority of people mod do so only to play pirate games. Backups and homebrew are just horseshit excuses to hide behind. It would certainly remove the excuse if Sony did implement backups in official firmware but it's not the main reason by a long shot that people mod.

Not surprising, really.

I was tempted to use the "Well, DUH!" title, but decided to exercise a little more empathy.

Firstly, Sony are only stopping folk doing what they don't want folk doing with hardware Sony have produced. Not too much to ask, I suppose. The PS3 is great for doing what most people want it to do without resorting to circumventing its operation.

However - Chris_B is right. This could be so much more if Sony bothered to spend the time it uses blocking piddly little hacks like this on actually developing a more open approach to homebrew, HDD backups and stuff legitimate users actually want.

So, come on, Sony. Let's have a nice C/C++/java/etc devkit for homebrewers, along with a way of running games from the HDD instead of disc. You've got the know-how to stop the pirates so prove to us how important we are by actually listening for a change!

@LuMan

"Firstly, Sony are only stopping folk doing what they don't want folk doing with hardware Sony have produced. Not too much to ask, I suppose. The PS3 is great for doing what most people want it to do without resorting to circumventing its operation."

At the point of sale it stops being Sony's hardware and becomes the buyer's hardware, after all, they bought it. Sony manufactured it sure but the _owner_ can do whatever she wants with _her_ hardware as long as it breaches no laws.

some form of dev environment is the answer

It's no coincidence that the PS3 was hacked shortly after they took away the Linux environment. Give the home-brew people a proper dev environment and you'll see that hackers concentrate on other things.

Personally playing my existing games from the hard drive far outweigh the lack of new titles and the PSN. At least until I complete them.

@zef

I'm not disputing that. But nearly all manufacturers of nearly all goods will try to ensure that the item is used for its intented purpose. If I hammer my trusty Citroen C4 at full tilt down the M1 I'll probably lose my licence and Citroen will say it's my fault as the car's not intended for that particular activity. However, if I enter it in a race on a closed track and win the world title then Citroen will probably use me as a poster boy for reasonably-priced hatchbacks. The point is the same - the manufacturer does not want me breaking the law with kit it has produced (which, as you say, is not 'actually' their kit).

Glad you agree on the dev-kit. Now, d'ya wanna race? Second bridge and back!

@zef, 7th September 2010 13:01 GMT

"At the point of sale it stops being Sony's hardware and becomes the buyer's hardware, after all, they bought it. Sony manufactured it sure but the _owner_ can do whatever she wants with _her_ hardware as long as it breaches no laws."

Sony didn't stop you from doing what you want to do with your hardware, you see, the firmware update is optional, as well as access to the PSN. Don't update your firmware if you wish to continue using the jailbreak, simple isn't it?! This apply to the Xbox360 as well, don't connect it to the Xbox Live if you cracked the console. You will still be able to watch movies and play games, you just won't be able to update your trophies or take advantage of new features. But I guess that control over your console does take more importance over new features, doesn't it?

@LuMan, I do agree with a friendlier approach to homebrew. Sony can release a restricted version of their developers kit (Express version!) that would allow non-commercial development on the console. They can even protect it by forcing the program produces not to be larger then 100MB (reasonable for a homebrew). I would love to get my hand on such a development kit should they ever release.

No, they're not.

"Firstly, Sony are only stopping folk doing what they don't want folk doing with hardware Sony have produced. Not too much to ask, I suppose. The PS3 is great for doing what most people want it to do without resorting to circumventing its operation."

No, Sony is stopping people that have potentially-modified consoles and games from connecting to the free multi-player-game-hosting environment because those potentially-modified consoles have potentially-modified games that could confer unfair gameplay to users of those consoles. That's it, that's all there is. There's no issue if you don't care about PSN. Just don't install the update, and your PS3 will continue exactly as it is.

Oh please

Everywhere went bat-shit crazy for this hack, 10s of thousand of orders put in for the devices, 99% of them weren't control-freak geeks looking to install (non-existent) homebrew, they were people wanting free games.

How can people get pissed at Sony stopping them from installing all this amazing "homebrew" when none of it actually exists.

Time for the Ban Hammer.

1/ Those that have ever ran backup manager. Obviously the PS3 remembers what games you have run, if you have ever executed in and the subsequently signed into PSN, Sony will know. Ban Hammer.

2/ Those that use proxies to avoid firmware updates. When the PS3 logs onto PSN using a system called DNAS, it sends the actual firmware version. If you log on to PSN with 3.41 after 3.42 is released, then you are clearly using a proxy to suppress the update notifications.

The recent PSN maintenance is rumoured to have switched on extended logging for PSN logon, so it's highly likely Sony are running database queries to see what PSN accounts and PS3 console serial numbers to ban with regards to the proxy exploit.

Come on Sony, time for the ban hammer to fall... Lets shut these idiots up for good. I really want to see the look on their faces when they see their 8002A227

Word on the street is that Game/Gamestation and CEX have all gotten letters from headoffice passed on from Sony, on how to test for banned consoles during trade-in, so it's clear something is about to happen on a grand scale...

Homebrew and PS3 Firmware 3.42

well....

...its true, sofar there isnt any homebrew for the ps3, but wouldnt it be nice to have a decent media player, a version of mame, and loads of retro emulators and who knows what else, now that psgroove is alive and kicking im starting to see lots of games available for download, its a shame i spose, but as previously said a majority of users are just wanting free stuff, personally i have 60 odd originals and my kids enjoy playing on-line, for this reason i will continue to purchase the over priced pap!, i think its wrong that sony block your on-line access if you dont upgrade, but hey, they supply the service so we have to go by their rules, i have to say though, i am going to keep my eye on the homebrew scene because there is a lot of potential out there. also i think if you couldny play on-line with a copied version, people would still get originals, on-line interaction has become the main reason my kids play, to be honest they complete a 40 quid game in a day or two, but the on-line side of things is where i get my moneys worth! so maybe somthing as simple as a key code would be effective, i spose its up to sony to to complicate or simplify things, i think homebrew should be enabled after all they made this marvelous machine why they deliberatly cripple it is beyond me!

Sir

ps3 jailbreak issue

well that suprised me i didnt expect sony to bring a update out so quick usally it takes a month or so depending on how serious i mean with microsoft it takes a month or 2 nice one sony i think you did the right thing and you were very quick on responding im gonna buy a ps3 due to its reliability there more reliable than microsofts xbox wooo cant wait to get one

Impractical anyway

Ours got the update last night, I was panicking as it came in at 17:50 and I needed to be online before 18:00 and the finish of Uncharted 2 lab, JUST made it anyway.

That did annoy we after a hard days work.

Anyway to the point in hand - backing up games, ours is a 40GB - we do need to upgrade as it is nearly full.

No room for a game - example God of War3 is 40GB, also, I found it at a pirate site, 40GB, now how long would it take to download? How much would it cost in ISP rental? How much for the HDD space on the console? I think it is actually cheaper to buy the game new.

I was pleased to find that not many games had made the pirate sites as the over 4GB thing seems to stop them.

People moan about game prices, mid £30s is not a bad price for a top rated game and all the entertainment you get from them. The studios also do put a LOT of work into these titles and they do need to earn a living.

As to duff games - just don't buy them. But you can buy safely sight unseen anything from Naughty Dog, Insomniac, and Evolution Studios.

Bought a PS3 for blu-ray...

I bought my own PS3 for playing Blu-ray disks back whilst the standard war was still going on, I thought it the best bet. I'm a PC gamer, but I thought I'd give the PS3 a go as well.. bought a couple of games... but I just cant get into console gaming!

However, have bought various family games for parties etc like singstar, Buzz etc...

But I'm *very* interested in the hack (which is software now, and can even be initiated from an appropriate smartphone) because for years I've used a mediacentre PC for webmedia/videos/music.. and its an-under telly excess i could do without.. so I'd love to see something like XBMC ported to the PS3.. and I like tinkering with stuff like emulators too.. so I'm hoping the homebrew scene develops... Sony arent losing a buyer-of-games really in me.. as there's nothing really I like playing on it anyway.. and those games I do.. have hard-ware addons that are required! :)